PODCAST

Think Out Loud

Oregon Public Broadcasting

OPB"s daily conversation covering news, politics, culture and the arts. Hosted By Dave Miller.

news

All Episodes

14:51

OHSU scientists reveal way to turn on hibernation in...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/15

Animals such as grizzly bears and Arctic ground squirrels have evolved the ability to hibernate as a way to survive winter months of extreme cold. During hibernation, their core body temperatures drop and their heart rates and metabolic activities slow to conserve energy. They also consume less oxygen during this inactivity. But what if you could make non-hibernating species – including humans - hibernate? How could you control hibernation as a therapy to help people

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19:25

Solitude - and its benefits - fall on a spectrum,...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/15

People are choosing to spend less time than ever in the presence of other people, whether in social events, one-on-one meetups or eating out. The latest cover story in The Atlantic explores some of the psychological and social implications of that trend. And a recent study out of Oregon State University goes deep into how solitude is defined and experienced — and the range of benefits that different kinds of solitude seem to offer. If you go out to eat alone, but are

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12:30

What’s next for Josephine County libraries after...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/15

On Jan. 6, Josephine County Commissioners voted to terminate the lease of the Grants Pass central library. Commissioners have since said they simply want to renegotiate the $1-a-year lease of the county-owned building. This comes after a legal battle last year over whether residents could opt out of the library’s special tax district. It also follows a period of 10 years in which the library system was run by a nonprofit and volunteers, rather than by the county. Josephine

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6:30

City water systems are not built to battle...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/15

In Southern California, fire hydrants ran dry as flames ripped through the Los Angeles area. Some critics blamed the municipal system for not meeting the demands for water. But the systems that house fire hydrants were not designed to battle major wildfires. Kylie Mohr is a freelance journalist and correspondent for High Country News. She reported on this issue for the outlet and joins us with details.

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14:19

Wildlife crossing in Southern Oregon will be first on...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/14

Students from Southern Oregon University collected over a million photos and videos of animals attempting to cross Interstate 5 in Southern Oregon. The students were working with SOU professor Karen Mager to try to understand the best place to put a wildlife crossing to facilitate passage for wildlife in an area well-known for vehicle-animal collisions. The federal government recently announced over $33 million in funding to create an overpass within the Mariposa Preserve of the

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21:41

How Oregon can improve the state of mental health

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/14

Disability Rights Oregon filed a motion last week, asking a federal judge to hold Oregon in contempt of court for failing to admit aid and assist cases within seven days. At the same time, a number of bills have been introduced in the Oregon Legislature surrounding mental health. Chris Bouneff is the executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He joins us to share improvements he hopes the state will make during the Legislative session.

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16:46

Portland City Council President Elana Pirtle-Guiney...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/14

At the beginning of the year, Portland’s new city council elected Elana Pirtle-Guiney as council president in a contentious vote that revealed some of the dividing lines of the new council. Pirtle-Guiney won by a 7-5 vote after nine rounds of voting. In the new role, Pirtle-Guiney will set council meeting agendas and refer council items to a vote that are proposed by the mayor or city auditor. Pirtle-Guiney joins us to talk about her new role and the challenges facing the

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14:22

'Pacific Drive' takes players on supernatural...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/13

Last year, Seattle-based company Ironwood Studios released its debut game, "Pacific Drive." The game is set in the Olympic Peninsula and players drive around in a station wagon, exploring supernatural happenings. The production company Atomic Monster has acquired the rights to turn the award-nominated game into a TV series. Cassandra Dracott is the CEO and creative director for Ironwood Studios and also grew up in Portland. She joins us to share how growing up in the Pacific

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19:13

University of Washington lecturer-turned-DJ amplifies...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/13

Tory Johnston is an enrolled member of the Quinault Indian Nation and a lecturer in American Indian Studies at the University of Washington. He grew up in the Quinault Indian reservation on the Washington coast with a love for music, whether it was the loud guitar riffs of Metallica or the jazz improvisation of Thelonious Monk.In 2023, with no prior experience as a radio DJ, he applied to work on a new show Seattle radio station KEXP was launching that appealed to his academic

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19:13

Washington legislative session begins

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/13

Washington’s legislative session begins on Monday and runs through April. Lawmakers are working on the state’s budget as Washington faces a multibillion-dollar budget gap. Governor-elect Bob Ferguson will be sworn in on Wednesday. Sentence about budget stuff He said officials should focus on budget cuts and efficiency. Jeanie Lindsay is the Olympia correspondent for partner station KUOW. She joins us with details of what officials have planned.

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25:53

Portlander spent 15 years documenting the foods of...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/10

Bikram Vaidya grew up in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, and ran a pub there for years before coming to the U.S. to get a culinary arts degree at Western Culinary Institute/Le Cordon Bleu in Portland, Oregon. Vaidya later went on to teach at Le Cordon Bleu and was a founding member and lead instructor at the Oregon Culinary Institute. For the last 15 years he has been dedicated to cataloguing the cuisines of his homeland. Vaidya has trekked across Nepal and spent time staying

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27:06

Portland’s arts and culture institutions face...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/10

In Portland, arts organizations are facing shrinking budgets, donor fatigue and other financial struggles. The city launched the Office of Arts of Culture last year, but Portland faces a $27 million budget gap. As people move out of Portland, an arts tax aimed at boosting the region’s arts and culture offerings might yield less money. Blake Shell is the executive and artistic director of the Oregon Center for Contemporary Art. Marissa Wolf is the artistic director of

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13:20

Port of Coos Bay contractor faces allegations of racism

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/09

A contractor with the Port of Coos Bay is facing allegations of racism after recordings revealed him praising Hitler and using other anti-Jewish and anti-Black rhetoric. Reporters have connected the recordings from an antifascist infiltrator to Michael Whitworth Gantenbein, owner of Whit Industries, which has received nearly $300,000 in contract work from the Port of Coos Bay over the last decade. A coalition of human rights and environmental groups are calling for the port to

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16:19

Opposition grows to Amazon’s plans to build small...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/09

Last October, Amazon announced it had signed an agreement to develop four small-scale modular nuclear reactors, or SMRs, along the Columbia River to power its data centers in Eastern Oregon. Energy Northwest, a consortium of publicly owned utilities, is partnering with Amazon on the development of the SMRs which it says could be scaled up to meet the energy needs of more than 770,000 homes in the region without the use of fossil fuels.But opposition to the plan is now ramping

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23:18

Congressman Cliff Bentz on the path to federal...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/09

Republican Cliff Bentz represents Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District in Congress. It’s the largest district in Oregon, and represents around two-thirds of the state. It encompasses the Owyhee Canyonlands, one of the state’s most-known but — as of yet — unprotected natural places. Conservationists and others, including Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, have called on President Joe Biden to create a national monument here but so far that hasn’t

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15:02

A look at Oregon’s vaudeville history

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/08

At the turn of the 20th century, Vaudeville performances exploded in growth in America, entertaining audiences with a variety of acts from magicians to comedy shows and more. In Astoria, Oregon, the historic Liberty Theatre was home to some of these acts. Melissa Hart is a journalist and author based in Eugene. Her great- grandparents were vaudeville performers themselves and traveled around the world with their act. She wrote about the history of vaudeville both in Astoria and

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22:02

OHSU study shows how peers with lived experience can...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/08

According to the CDC, more than 2 million people in the U.S. are infected with hepatitis C. The bloodborne illness attacks the liver and can lead to cancer or death if left untreated. Injection drug use is the leading risk factor for hepatitis C, which is also more prevalent in rural counties where diagnosis and treatment can be hard to come by, especially for people experiencing homelessness. Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University demonstrated a new strategy that

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15:51

Providence nurses and doctors may strike on Friday

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/08

The largest healthcare strike in Oregon history is on the horizon. About 5,000 Providence doctors and nurses who work at 8 different hospitals around the state could strike at the end of this week. We’ll get an update from OPB healthcare reporter Amelia Templeton.

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14:07

The Portlander who is archiving his city’s street car...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/07

Portlander Cameron Booth is mostly known for his blog Transit Maps, which reviews and showcases public transit maps from bygone eras to modern day systems. But for nearly a year now, Booth has been making sure one piece of Portland’s history is not forgotten: street cars. From its beginnings in 1872 to the modern system, Booth has been archiving and cataloging information he finds on his new website, Portland Streetcar History. We hear from Booth to learn more on why he

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19:53

Marion County’s move from incineration to landfill...

Think Out Loud ·

2025/01/07

Since the mid-1980s, Marion county has been sending its trash to an incinerator, now known as Reworld Marion Inc. It’s the only one in the state, and the county has partnered with it from the beginning. The company recently filed objections with Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality around environmental regulations the state passed aimed at improving human health by reducing toxic emissions from the facility. Several months ago Reworld announced it would be closing

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